At the midpoint of the season, the volleyball team is at a crossroads. MSU (9-6 overall, 2-2 Big Ten) after defeating Michigan (6-8 overall, 1-3 Big Ten) at Jenison on Friday night is in prime position to contend in a tough Big Ten conference or free fall into oblivion.
Fifteen games are in the books for the volleyball team and there are 16 left to go. The season is at the midpoint and the Spartans are hoping to establish a rhythm.
MSU (9-6 overall, 2-2 Big Ten) wrapped up it’s home-and-home series with a 3-1 win (25-21, 29-31, 25-23, 26-24) against in-state rival Michigan (6-8 overall, 1-3 Big Ten) on Friday night.
By Troy Jeffersontjefferson@statenews.comIt will be déjá vu for the Spartans on Friday night.
MSU (8-6 overall, 1-2 Big Ten) fell short in it’s attempt to win on the road against in-state rival Michigan (6-7 overall, 1-2 Big Ten), losing in four sets (20-25, 25-22, 24-26, 23-25).It was a sloppy effort for both teams, who combined for 55 errors. MSU had 29 of those errors, 11 of which were service errors.
With a top-10 recruiting class comes big expectations and the craving for immediate production. MSU volleyball compiled the No. 6-rated recruiting class last spring according to PrepVolleyball.com.The talented class has paid dividends for head coach Cathy George, whose team has caught a case of the injury bug early on this season.
After splitting two games over the weekend to open up Big Ten season, MSU (8-5 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) will make the short trip to Ann Arbor to face Michigan (5-7 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) on Tuesday. Both the Spartans and Wolverines played Indiana and No. 15 Purdue this past weekend. MSU defeated Indiana in four sets and lost to Purdue in four sets. U-M lost to both Indiana and Purdue in five sets.
MSU (8-5 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) opened the conference portion of the season with a split in it’s two road games in the state of Indiana this past weekend. The Spartans defeated the Indiana Hoosiers (10-4 overall, 1-1 Big Ten), 3-1 (25-17, 25-18, 22-25, 25-21) on Friday night and loss to No. 15 Purdue on Saturday night, 3-1 (22-25, 22-25, 28-26, 25-23).
MSU volleyball (8-5 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) played Purdue (12-2 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) tough on the road for four sets but could not bring home a victory, losing in four sets (22-25, 22-25, 28-26, 23-25).
MSU volleyball (8-4 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) defeated Indiana (9-4 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) in their Big Ten debut on Friday night on the road, 3-1 (25-17, 25-18, 22-25, 25-21).
For prenursing sophomore Hannah Schroll, playing club volleyball is much more than just a casual hobby.
MSU (7-4 overall) opens up Big Ten play on Friday in Bloomington against Indiana (9-3 overall). The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network at 8 p.m. The Spartans play No. 15 Purdue (10- 2 overall) on Saturday night at 7 p.m.
Head coach Cathy George knew the first month of the season would be challenging for MSU volleyball (7-4 overall), EMCwho played five teams that made the NCAA tournament last season in a 15-day span. Unlike football, there’s no bye week for the volleyball team, which begins play in the toughest conference in the collegiate ranks on Friday against Indiana.
In the midst of a close match against LIU-Brooklyn last Friday, the ball ricocheted off a Spartan and nearly landed out of bounds, which would have resulted in a point for the other team. But as she’s done many times during her career at MSU, senior libero Kori Moster dived into the audience to keep the point alive for the Spartans.
No. 25 MSU (7-4 overall) won two of three games over the weekend at Jenison Field House as part of the 2014 Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational. The tournament got off to a rough start for the Spartans, who lost to LIU-Brooklyn (9-4 overall) 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 20-25, 26-24, 13-15) on Friday afternoon.
No. 25 MSU (7-4 overall) dominated UW-Milwaukee (5-8 overall), winning in three straight sets for the second night in a row (25-19, 25-8, 25-16) at Jenison Field House on Saturday night. “The thing that was so cool about (tonight) is that we were discipline two nights in a row,” senior libero Kori Moster said. “It was a huge step in the right direction.”
After a lackluster performance against LIU-Brooklyn in the day portion of the day-night doubleheader, No. 25 MSU (6-4 overall) swept Western Kentucky (11-3 overall), 3-0 (25-11, 25-21, 25-16) in the night cap. “We came out with the right type of intensity and focus we needed to play against Western Kentucky,” head coach Cathy George said. “They’re a very good team.”
No. 25 MSU (5-4 overall) suffered another close loss at home on Friday afternoon, losing 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 20-25, 26-24, 13-15) against LIU-Brooklyn (8-3 overall).After surrendering the first three points of the first set, MSU used a 14-8 run to give them a three-point lead.
Standing at six-foot-four feet tall, it’s not easy to miss outside hitter Chloe Reinig. Height aside, the sophomore standout has been a linchpin for No. 25 MSU volleyball (5-3 overall).Reinig has made up for lost time after missing the non-conference portion of the 2013 season with mononucleosis. The outside hitter appeared in 25 matches last season.
No. 25 MSU volleyball (5-3 overall) will host the 2014 Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational this weekend at Jenison Field House. The Spartans welcome LIU Brooklyn (7-3 overall), Western Kentucky (10-2 overall) and UW-Milwaukee (4-6 overall) to East Lansing for a two-day, six-game tournament.